A number of Cardiff University halls contain forms of asbestos

Talybont North and Senghennydd Court are just two of the Cardiff University residences which contain forms of asbestos.

A response to a Freedom of Information request made last year has uncovered that a number of residences contain the harmful material.

Asbestos is often linked to lung cancer and holds many other health risks, although Cardiff University has stated the levels of the fibre are 'very low risk'.

Don't breathe in too hard

It has been present for years, and back in 2014 after the BBC published an enquiry into the residences, Cardiff University responded: "The University will now review its policy with a view to making this information available to students in advance." However, nothing has changed since and students are still completely unaware.

The full list of residences that contain asbestos are as follows: Cartwright Court, Aberconway Hall, Hodge Hall, Talybont North, Roy Jenkins Hall and Senghennydd Court. The asbestos present is generally in the form of textured coatings to walls and ceilings.

Although they're paying hundreds of pounds a month to stay in the University-owned halls, students aren't made aware of the dangerous fibre's presence.

Grace, a 21-year-old Philosophy and Economics student used to live in Cartwright Court last year. She thinks it’s completely wrong for Cardiff University to hide this from students:

"As a paying student, I was not made aware of any level of asbestos within my halls. No matter what the level is, I should have been told about it so I could decide for myself if the level was low enough to not worry about."

Senghennydd Court, one of the affected halls

Final year Journalism student Niamh, 20, also lived in one of the affected halls, Senghenydd Court, in her first year. She tells The Tab Cardiff: "Being a student who’s already lived there and left, none of us had any idea that it was affecting us.

"It’s just appalling that they let us live there completely unaware of the situation since there are health risks, even if they are only minor ones."

In response to these findings, a Cardiff University spokesperson stated:

"We hold the health, safety and security of our students in the highest priority. This is reflected in the robustness of the training we deliver to staff and the resolute policies we employ to ensure full compliance with all relevant health and safety legislation, including the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012."

"There is no high-risk asbestos in our Residences. In Residences where asbestos is present, it is in Artex on ceilings and some walls. The remaining low-risk asbestos is securely sealed and would take a serious intervention, such as drilling, to release fibres."

"Cardiff University, along with other UK universities, informed by HSE guidance, has strong control measures in place to prevent such an occurrence."